Following a successful six-month pilot at Sangre Grande Hospital in Trinidad and Tobago, the eastern regional health authority has decided to roll-out Isla across all services under an ambitious deployment programme.
The programme at Sangre Grande Hospital initially focused on three key specialties: wound care, surgical wards, and dietetics, noting results including zero infection readmissions and a saving for clinical teams of 30 minutes per patient.
Readmissions for surgical site infections were previously a “significant cause of complications and extended hospital stays”, with feedback from clinicians highlighting the benefits to patients in this regard. Daily wound care visits have also fallen from 15 patients per day to less than five, with Isla noting “some days requiring no in-person visits at all”.
The pilot processed more than 1,600 submissions from 42 clinical users, and recorded benefits included clinical time savings of 15 to 30 minutes, and avoided face-to-face appointments saving an additional 30 minutes each.
Isla’s digital pathway platform allowed for the remote monitoring of patients using secure image submissions and questionnaires, aligning with Trinidad and Tobago’s Digital Health Strategy and addressing key challenges in capturing patient-submitted data.
Patient feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive” with Isla stating that 100 percent of respondents indicated that they would use the platform again and recommend it to friends and family.
Angelina Rampersad-Pierre, Sangre Grande’s CEO, commented: “This partnership has enhanced how we deliver care to our rural communities. When patients no longer need to travel over an hour for wound care appointments, and our readmission rates drop to zero, we know we’re making a real difference. Our clinical teams can now focus their expertise in other key areas.”
The UK high commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago, Jon Dean, is also quoted as saying that the partnership offers “an excellent example of how digital health solutions can improve patient care while also increasing efficiency”.
Wider trend: Digital pathways and virtual care
Pete Hansell, CEO and co-founder of Isla Health, joined a HTN panel of leading experts in surgical site infection care for an insightful discussion on how digital innovation is reshaping clinical practice and improving patient outcomes earlier this year. The session shared practical advice on reducing SSIs with digital pathways, ensuring effective surveillance, how a digital approach to surgical site safety can reduce infection risk, and the role of automation in infection control.
Earlier in the year, The Rotunda Hospital, a leading maternity hospital based in Dublin, entered into a strategic partnership with Isla Health, to digitise and personalise patient pathways. The partnership is to focus on enhancing patient engagement with personalised digital pathways, to support patients across the entire hospital, including gynaecology, obstetrics, and neonatal care.
Recently, for HTN Now, we welcomed a group of experts for a discussion on how digital tools are transforming community care delivery and expanding workforce capacity. Panellists included Peter Cumpstone, head of digital clinical systems, safety and transformation at Sirona care & health; Sara Lowe, CHS business and transformation clinical team lead at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust; and Gabi Cohen, director of delivery at Isla Health. Our panel shared real-world projects, including waitlist validation pathways, self-managed care models, and community-based digital practices. They also highlighted practical insights into how technology is being used to streamline workflows, reduce pressure on staff, and improve patient outcomes. Watch the session back here.
Digital pathways learning
Join HTN and Isla Health, 12-1pm 2 October, for a HTN Now webinar to focus on embedding clinical safety into digital pathways. Register here.
If you are interested in learning more about digital pathways, read Isla Health’s free guide here.
